At times, the narratives in games can be extremely explicit, perhaps focusing on a bad person who has killed the hero’s loved one and family. The hero then goes on a quest where they meet fellow adventurers, get access to a special power, faces death in adversity, and then kills their foe, coming back changed, but triumphant. It’s a story as old as time.Â
But there are other narratives that just rely on colour and visuals, open to interpretation as the player takes the simple, soothing narrative forwards. The Lullaby of Life is one of those games.
There isn’t a text story or a narrative to follow in The Lullaby of Life. You play a little particle with eyes, traveling across the universe, entering stars in hope of making life whole again. I am sort of guessing a bit here, but it doesn’t matter so much as the gameplay and puzzle solving are the key to what plays out. Yes, some of the chapter titles give a bit of a clue as to how this plays, but I don’t think we will be analyzing the story in twenty years time.
The gameplay works as a mixture of exploration, puzzle solving, and rhythmic action. You move a little particle around tunnels and corridors, inside stars and wormholes in space. Your objective? It’s easy really – to activate other particles.
And on the particle itself, there are three actions and musical sounds that you can play, actioned by pressing the X, A, and B buttons to activate the right coloured symbol. These are required to open pathways and unlock objects for you to use on your journey.
In every level, there is a main nucleus that requires a series of symbols to be unlocked in a certain order. Some of these symbols won’t be initially available though, so you have to go out there and activate new particles, just like you.
There are a whole myriad of different particle symbols to unlock and hidden easter egg to uncover in each chapter. When you unlock and activate them, they follow you around, as you use the sound by pressing the Y Button. When you have a few of them under your command, you’ll need to switch between the three very quickly so you get the timing right to unlock certain things. And as you progress through the worlds it does get trickier, as new devices and obstacles pop up to try and halt any progress. The Lullaby of Life becomes challenging at times, but never impossible.
In fact, The Lullaby of Life is an enjoyable and quite relaxing experience. There are no instructions to be had though, and when I first started playing it all felt like hard work, left to try and work out what was happening, but when it clicks, it all becomes second nature. However, I did have a couple of problems with saving, and I’ve been left heading back to levels to find certain pathways blocked; a restart of the stage being required. But apart from that, everything runs as smooth as butter.
The game is very pretty, especially in terms of colours and design. But it must also be said that the main character – who looks a bit like the Paris Olympic Games mascot – is a great creation as well. The levels themselves feel wonderful to explore and when it breaks the odd convention, it makes the format even more effective. And I should also mention that the music is lovely and calming, as are the audio effects and noises that show you’re making the right choices in the gameplay.
The Lullaby of Life is an extremely relaxing, hugely enjoyable game that will take you around five hours to complete. The rhythmic gameplay is key throughout, running as a charming mechanic that doesn’t wear out. But the world is equally great, as you take in a journey through this cosmic oddity. There are a few problems, mostly centred on saving, and occasionally it can feel a tad too challenging, with little explanation as to what needs doing.
But the good outweighs the bad in The Lullaby of Life and so if you have a puzzle adventure urge, this is a worthwhile purchase.
